Reunion
by aeriza
Summary: The last thing Kuroko expected at the Winter Cup was to meet Ogiwara again.


**Summary: The last thing Kuroko expected at the Winter Cup was to meet Ogiwara again.**

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Ogiwara was his first friend. His first real friend, that is.

When he was very young and still an elementary school student, Kuroko's lack of presence felt more like a curse than a blessing.

It was very difficult for him to make friends with other children his age when they didn't even know that he existed in the first place. But that started to change in fifth grade. He watched a basketball match on television one boring evening, and to his surprise, it absolutely fascinated him. The match was fast-paced and filled with suspense in almost every second during the whole game. The players ran around the court, throwing the orange ball back and forth to each other. Even though they were sweating and tired, they looked like they were having fun.

And that inspired Kuroko to try out basketball for the first time. The first time he touched and held a basketball was when he knew that there was something special about the sport, and Kuroko had a feeling that he could develop a passion for it.

While playing basketball at the local park near his home, someone called out to him. It was Ogiwara. It was the first time they ever met. Ogiwara introduced to him the basics of basketball and taught Kuroko all he knew about it. Although they went to separate elementary schools, they played basketball whenever they had free time.

Right before the year they were going to enter middle school, they promised to play against each other in a basketball match on their schools' basketball teams.

Of course, not all promises were guaranteed to be kept. Kuroko was able to get into the first string of Teikou's basketball team, but he wasn't able to stop the Generation of Miracles from changing like how they did. Their changes heavily affected Kuroko, and he found himself somewhat reluctant to keep the promise he made to Ogiwara. How could he play a match against him in a team that refuses to use teamwork? A team that had mercilessly beat losing teams in previous matches?

Nonetheless, a promise was a promise. Kuroko tried to keep it, though an injury kept him from doing that. He fell unconscious, and the next time he woke up, Teikou was already playing against Meikou. And the result of that match nearly made Kuroko quit basketball for good.

He was such an idiot. If he never spoke to Akashi about Ogiwara that day, then things might have turned out differently. Ogiwara and his team wouldn't have been humiliated like that in the game. Kuroko remembered with stunning clarity of what happened on that day. The final score was 111:11. The Generation of Miracles purposely let the Meikou team score points just to win a sick, cruel game. His Seirin jersey number, which was eleven, is a flashing reminder and forces Kuroko never to ever forget.

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Kuroko had expected many things while his team was at the Winter Cup, but one thing he hadn't expect was to meet Ogiwara again.

The rest of the Seirin team was still inside the building. The tournament was over, but there the final announcements of the end of the Winter Cup were taking place, but Kuroko had wanted to get fresh air and left to go outside. He walked about twenty meters before hearing a voice call out to him. He turned to see who it was. His eyes widened at the familiar male standing in front of him. There was no mistake about it. The person was clearly Ogiwara.

Not even keeping up with his expressionless mask on, Kuroko let his face morph into shock. "Ogiwara-kun?"

"Yo, Kuroko!" Ogiwara greeted while he formed a big grin on his lips. "Long time no see!"

Kuroko blinked and blinked again. This wasn't a part of his imagination, was it? Ogiwara was really here. A thought came to mind. "Hello, Ogiwara-kun..." Kuroko asked, "Were you watching the Winter Cup?" He stared at Ogiwara. He didn't seem to change much from the last time Kuroko saw him. His hair was a little longer, and maybe he was a little taller, but that's about it.

"Uh-huh," Ogiwara replied. "I was in one of the back row seats, so I'm not surprised you didn't see me. Plus, I didn't even notify you I was going to watch it in person in the first place. Congratulations on your teams winning, by the way!"

"Thank you." Kuroko's mind swirled with what to say next. He wanted to apologize to Ogiwara, he really did. He bowed his head, his hair bangs hiding his eyes from view. "I'm really sorry."

"Huh?!" Ogiwara was taken aback from Kuroko's apology. "Sorry for what?"

"For that last game when Meikou went against Teikou."

Ogiwara's smile fell a little. "Oh, that. Yeah, I have to admit that wasn't something I really wanted to remember. But why are you bringing this up?" Then he furrowed his eyebrows. "Wait...are you blaming yourself for what happened back then?"

Ogiwara looked at him with wide eyes. "Kuroko, it's been a whole year, and you're still beating yourself over this? "

Kuroko shook his head. "Of course. What happened was horrible."

Ogiwara laughed dryly, though there was not a tint of humor layered in it. "Geez, you're acting like I died or got into a serious accident or something...If I known sooner, I would have tried to contact you earlier." Then he stared at Kuroko sadly. "Ah, but I guess something did die. My love for basketball did."

Kuroko's guilt seemed to increase tenfold. It was one thing to hear about Ogiwara's dislike of basketball from Ogiwara's teammate, but to actually hear it from Ogiwara himself...

Ogiwara continued, "But I was thinking that maybe I didn't love basketball as I thought I did. If I really did love it, I wouldn't have given it up so easily."

"That's not true," Kuroko protested. "Even if it's a something you really love, certain circumstances can change that. It's not easy to see something you love become something you hate."

Kuroko knew the feeling all too well. Kuroko remembered when he himself wanted to quit basketball. He absolutely loved basketball, but after what happened with Ogiwara back then, Kuroko didn't see any merit in playing the sport again, though he was able to get back on his feet and decided to defeat the Generation of Miracles.

"Heh, yeah," Ogiwara replied while looking out in the distance. "But really, who knows? The future is unpredictable. One moment you would have everything planned out, then bam, something happens and throws you off course, and then you'll have to get up and start all over again. The same happened to me with basketball."

Kuroko could agree with that. He never thought that he would be separated from the Generation of Miracles when he was still a second year middle school student. At that time in the past, everything felt right, like they were meant to stay together in high school. Obviously things didn't turn out that way.

"And you know," Ogiwara added. "I'm kinda glad I quit basketball since I'm planning to become a lawyer."

That surprised Kuroko. "A lawyer?" He couldn't imagine Ogiwara, who had an outgoing and fun personality, to be the type who wanted to practice law.

Ogiwara nodded with ethusiasm. "Yup, I'm not a genius neither am I that smart, so basketball practice would have definitely got in the way of my studies. I could imagine that even if I didn't quit after that match against Teikou, I would have definitely quit this year. Right now, I just really want to focus on my grades."

Ogiwara looked out into the distance. The sky was getting dark. "I moved on. I really did love basketball. It was fun, but now it's just a memory of the past." Then he turned to look at Kuroko. "But it's different for you, Kuroko. Basketball seems to be very important to you, even now. It's not only a sport and game to you, from what I saw earlier in the tournament, that I can tell."

Kuroko was speechless. At a loss for words, he only nodded in response.

Ogiwara placed a hand on Kuroko's shoulder. "You shouldn't worry about me, man. I had time to think about what happened, and I don't blame you for anything. I mean it. I really don't."

Those words seemed to have been the key because Kuroko felt a wave of calm and peace overcome him as he heard those words. Guilt. Forgiveness. Those were two words that had associated with Ogiwara until now. "Ogiwara-kun...Thank you."

"No problem. Even though I don't play basketball anymore, I still think highly of our friendship."

"I feel the same way."

Then Ogiwara checked the time using his wristwatch. "Oh crud!" He turned his attention back to Kuroko. "Anyway, I need to go now. My dad will give me a lecture if I go home after curfew is over."

"Oh, I see." Kuroko was disappointed that he couldn't talk with Ogiwara more, but he guessed it couldn't be helped.

"I hope we meet again someday, Kuroko. Maybe at the next big basketball tournament, I'll come in visit. When that happens, I expect an amazing game from Seirin!"

"I'll try my best to meet your expectations, then."

"See you!"

"Bye." Kuroko said as he watched Ogiwara walk away. Moments later, Kagami exited the building. He looked around and saw Kuroko. He ran over to where Kuroko was, huffing and wheezing as he did so.

"There you are!" Kagami exclaimed exasperatedly to him. "Kuroko, everyone's looking for you and - " Kagami widened his eyes when he saw Kuroko's expression. He asked incredulously, "Is that a smile at your face?!"

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**A/N: Thank you for reading!**


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